This issue starts off where #7 left off and Ada is very concerned about the possibility of her and Alex getting caught in the crackdown. This is where we get to see an interesting dynamic of the book: is it better to be sentient and free while still acting like a robot, with an extreme large risk at hand? Or is it better to be like Daniel, a robot who only serves to Alex’s grandmother’s needs and nothing else with no complications at all?
When they get home from dinner, Alex and Ada go online to the Degrees of Freedom forum. Although this is a dangerous thing to do with the recent crackdown and the fact that Ada is sentient. They end up running into Franklin who performed the operation on Ada to make her sentient. Alex goes offline and lets Ada talk to Franklin and three other members of the forum.

All of the other androids in this forum are sentient like Ada (also called “freedroids”), and they give her an idea of what her life could be like. Some of them end up leaving their owners and live in safehouses and underground networks made specifically for this purpose. Some even have jobs and romantic relationships. Franklin would rather do something worthwhile and meaningful than hide and do nothing even though the government could crackdown on the freedroids. This gives Ada even more to think about. She likes the idea of a romantic relationship with Alex and does her best to learn everything that would entail. Whether or not it works out is up for you to find out.

This was definitely one of my favorite issues of Alex + Ada. At some points it’s been great, at others very disappointing, but I’m hoping these last few issues hit their stride and really deliver. If this issue is any clue towards the last few issues we’ll definitely be in for a few surprises.